[iceRN09]

Originally Posted by mmm50i

I can't confirm since I haven't lifted my vehicle up to look myself, but the information is from this thread:
https://g05.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1685801

I have been under the M50i multiple times and It never caught my eye. But I am due for my 6000 mile oil change at my Indy mechanic. So I will visually look for it.

[mmm50i]

Originally Posted by iceRN09

I have been under the M50i multiple times and It never caught my eye. But I am due for my 6000 mile oil change at my Indy mechanic. So I will visually look for it.

Please report back because I’ve only read about it here in the forums. I haven’t looked under my car neither.

[sigmabody]

Originally Posted by kjx

If louder (up until a point, as I said) wasn't safer, I wonder why ambulances, fire trucks and cop cars have sirens. Or why cars even have horns at all.

That's a false-equivalence: emergency vehicles have on-demand louder features, similar to horns, to warn people of an extraordinary situation which requires enhanced attention. Loud engines are just people being obnoxious.

Originally Posted by kjx

Sure, if everyone was loud, it won't 'work' as intended. But being perceived as a jerk is of less concern than actual safety for some people, at least. Not everyone needs to subscribe to that. Just as not everyone needs to own a sports car, super car or hyper car.

Again, people having loud vehicles has nothing to do with safety, except in that it makes everyone less safe. Being perceived as a jerk is asymmetrical to that. If you have a loud vehicle, you are both being perceived as a jerk, and making people less safe. That may be fine for you (and it is for many people), but it's not making anyone else's life better.

Originally Posted by kjx

As an example, people can hate on Ferrari and Lamborghini owners as much as they want. But if it's legal, it's legal - we can all just suck it up. If it's not legal, anyone who has a problem can complain to the cops. It's a free country - anyone can think they are jerks. None of those owners waste any time thinking about the opinions of people who think their cars are loud.

There's a term for people who do what they want, as long as it's technically legal (and/or they feel they can can get away with it), without concern for how obnoxious it might be for anyone else: "jerks". That's probably the politest term, actually, but I think we're in agreement with the characterization.

Originally Posted by kjx

I'm only talking about cars that have a certain amount of loudness on the outside from the factory and achieve a certain level of noise in the course of driving as designed. Not the obnoxiously loud, aftermarket fart-cans - just to be sure you understand that's not what I'm advocating for. That's where I draw the line but it's a free country, people who drive fart-cans can drive fart-cans unless it falls afoul of noise regulations.

I'm not sure I understand why some people make that particular specific distinction, but admittedly I don't really have that mindset. Loud is loud, whether you buy it like that, or modify it with a coffee can, speaker, muffler delete, etc.

(Lots of stuff elided here; could summarize as "I do what I want as long as it's legal, F everyone else's feelings".)

Originally Posted by kjx

If I had to guess, you think everyone with loud(er) cars are trying to shove that they have an "authentic" gas car into everyone else's faces? streborx and you have something in common if that's what you were trying to convey.

I think virtually everyone who is projecting loud noise outside their vehicle is doing it to shove it in people's faces, metaphorically (whether that's engine noise, or loud music, or propaganda on a loudspeaker, etc.). That's why I asked the hypothetical about inside vs outside noise: I have no issue with people projecting noise inside their vehicle, and if someone would be content with engine noise in the cabin when the outside was silent, I'd think no less of them. That's really the salient distinction in my mind between being someone who enjoys the sound, and someone who is just being a jerk.

[sigmabody]

Originally Posted by ScaldedDog

If my wife is with me on a trip we usually listen to a podcast or music, but the radio screen is displaying the 12 engine parameters I monitor on it through the OBD port, and I'm listening to the motor in the background. As I mentioned, I like this stuff.

Others? What others? I live on five acres, there's no place to spend a dollar within six miles of my front door, and the haul to Moab and other places I go is mostly highway, in the middle of nowhere, or both. There are no "others".

I was genuinely curious, fwiw. As I noted in the other response, I have no issue personally with people who want to listen to the sounds (or whatever sound) inside the cabin, if they would be content if the outside of their vehicle was silent. It sounds like you have a perfectly valid reason to listen to your engine, and you're not bothering anyone else, and I have no issue with that in concept; my issue is only with people who shove loud noises in other people's faces.

It sounds like you enjoy the sound because of the association with an understanding of the mechanics, and a method of monitoring them, which is a case I admittedly didn't enumerate, so that's a good call-out. I would assume you would be fine with my hypothetical in that case (ie: the noise only inside the cabin), given that rationale.

[kjx]

Originally Posted by sigmabody

That's why I asked the hypothetical about inside vs outside noise: I have no issue with people projecting noise inside their vehicle, and if someone would be content with engine noise in the cabin when the outside was silent, I'd think no less of them. That's really the salient distinction in my mind between being someone who enjoys the sound, and someone who is just being a jerk.

Here's the thing though. I've always enjoyed hearing the occasional super or hyper car go by roaring. It was thrilling and I want to hear it. The rumble and the whine as they pass by. I've never thought they were driven by jerks. I always know when they're coming up and make sure to move out of the way even if I were intending to pass someone else.

It's like watching and listening to fighter jets performing maneuvers. It's thrilling. And I've never thought the pilots were jerks.

I've never owned a super car or hyper car. And I've never owned and will never own a fighter jet.

There are many like me.

If you were in my place, you may think they (the drivers) were jerks and get irritated. Whose opinion matters more - people like you or people like me? Our opinions are equal - it's the law that decides where the boundary of what's acceptable and what's not lies. And you know what they say about opinions (especially about opinions about morality beyond what the law prescribes) -- "Opinions are like assholes, everybody's got one and everyone thinks everyone else's stinks."

[jad03060]

An occasional full throttle run with the engine howling can be a thrill, but passing by a residential area where people may be sleeping or trying to relax is not pleasant. On a trip, that constant growl or howl is just plain nasty. That sound level can also make it harder to hear a warning horn or siren until it's potentially too late to avoid a serious situation. It's better left to a track where people expect it.

People that modify their vehicles to enable more noise, in most cases are breaking the law. What it sounds like in the vehicle, I could care less. But from the factory, they have to ensure their vehicle passes the rules for all of the areas they may be sold or traverse. It the sound level was too high inside, they'd open themselves up for being sued, should someone lose some of their hearing, which is a real possibility.

[MPower10s]

anyone have an answer to the OPs question? I am curious as well

[chefwong]

It's fake re: OP. Or at least boosted in volume....
In Bimmercode, if you turn off Active Sound Design, its like 360 difference in sound (as it dead quiet) just short of a cold start

[playswcars]

There are no speakers under the car. All the iDrive setting changes is how much of the Active Sound (ASD) is pumped in via the sound system speakers.

Personally, it’s the first thing I disable via coding, even in my M cars.

[Yamadawg]

I just had the software update completed on my vehicle and it errased my coding. So I had to reactivate the BimmerCode changes. I do not see 'Active Sound Design' as an option in BimmerCode for the 2023 X5 M50i. It is there in demo mode, but not when connected. I am curious if the 23 has ASD

[cobramite]

Always good to hear from the sanctimonius peace and quite legion along with their psycho analysis about how stupid anyone is with a vehicle louder than a Prius.

[1Boxer]

I drove a V8 Yukon for a few years before getting my X5 M50i and loved the sound of the 6L v8 that the Yukon had. I don't expect the X5 to even come close to that sound but I do want it to sound like a TT V8, and i will modify my exhaust to make it sound better, on the outside. I don't drive in my neighborhood early in the morning at full throttle or rev the engine for no reason, but when I do step on it, I want the car to sound like a real TT V8 and not something that's been neutered for the sake of someone maybe getting offended by it.

[MC113]

Originally Posted by 1Boxer

I drove a V8 Yukon for a few years before getting my X5 M50i and loved the sound of the 6L v8 that the Yukon had. I don't expect the X5 to even come close to that sound but I do want it to sound like a TT V8, and i will modify my exhaust to make it sound better, on the outside. I don't drive in my neighborhood early in the morning at full throttle or rev the engine for no reason, but when I do step on it, I want the car to sound like a real TT V8 and not something that's been neutered for the sake of someone maybe getting offended by it.

You captured my exact feeling when I started this thread on the '24 M60i's barely perceivable exhaust note. FWIW, for anyone with the M50i I'd say you should enjoy them (we recently purchased an M550 which shares the same engine) since the N63 and its exhaust are orders of magnitude better than the LCI M60i. This YouTuber does a great job of demonstrating that the '24 X7 M60i with the same S68 engine genuinely sounds like a four or six cylinder turbo diesel and how much the fake "IconicSounds" are masking from the interior. Enable subtitles to follow his commentary but the demonstration speaks for itself. First world problem, but I cannot think of another modern V8 powertrain from a luxury manufacturer that sounds like this.

[cobramite]

Originally Posted by 1Boxer

I drove a V8 Yukon for a few years before getting my X5 M50i and loved the sound of the 6L v8 that the Yukon had. I don't expect the X5 to even come close to that sound but I do want it to sound like a TT V8, and i will modify my exhaust to make it sound better, on the outside. I don't drive in my neighborhood early in the morning at full throttle or rev the engine for no reason, but when I do step on it, I want the car to sound like a real TT V8 and not something that's been neutered for the sake of someone maybe getting offended by it.

We've had a Yukon Denali and an Escalade. Both great vehicles indeed.

[LDT]

Originally Posted by cobramite

We've had a Yukon Denali and an Escalade. Both great vehicles indeed.

Also had a Y Denali but it had a voracious taste for fuel much like me and small batch bourbon

[cobramite]

Originally Posted by LDT

Also had a Y Denali but it had a voracious taste for fuel much like me and small batch bourbon

We keep a number of vehicles in the stable so none are used to any great degree. I can't say that fuel consumption was an issue for us.
Anyone purchasing an 80K or 100K vehicle should be able to afford a little more fuel which is highly dependent on your driving habits. The aggressive guy who launches from every red light and plays Mario Andretti on public streets is going to get terrible gas mileage in just about any vehicle.
They make little tin cans like the Prius for those who are overly anal about gas mileage.

[jad03060]

Around the world, and the X5 is sold there, there are some maximum sound level requirements. Last I checked, BMW is the largest US car exporter, so while the US market is important, it's not its only one. It's been being built in the US mostly for tax purposes.

FWIW, the twin turbos act by themselves as pretty good mufflers, then throw in the actual ones, much of the natural V8 sounds, especially compared to an old naturally aspirated V8 are going to be quite different.